Draco's Sweater
by EstherGreenwood92
Summary: Draco and Hermione are Head Boy and Girl. Patrolling the corridors late one night, Draco lends Hermione one of his sweaters. One shot, cute and fluffy.


Draco and Hermione are Head Boy and Girl. Patrolling the corridors late one night, Draco lends Hermione one of his sweaters. One shot, cute and fluffy.

I was walking through the hallways of Hogwarts late at night. It had been a glum Wednesday and I was pretty tired. My nocturnal walks had increased in their frequency ever since Professor McGonagall had told us that our NEWT's were only a month away. Sure, I knew that this had been coming, but I still hadn't prepared myself for the onslaught of anxiety and sleepless nights. It didn't matter that I was tired, I just couldn't sleep. As Head Girl, it was my duty to patrol the corridors late at night. This suited me fine as I had taken up walking around the castle to clear my head. I had somehow gotten into the habit of doing my night time patrols as a way to get to clear my head so I could sleep. Tonight wasn't really my night to patrol the corridors but I had decided to do the patrolling anyway. It was a way, maybe not the best, but a way to deal with my insomnia.

My night time patrols were also the only time I really had to myself these days. I ate, slept, went to class and studied with my fellow Gryffindors. It became very tiring and taxing when all I really wanted was to be alone. As such I reveled in my night time patrols. As Head Girl, I was assigned to patrol the corridors from eleven o'clock to one o'clock. I didn't have class the next morning until eleven, so it didn't really affect my sleep. But because my hours were so late, I rarely saw students in the corridors. I would sometimes pass the Hogwarts ghosts and occasionally Peeves— much to his delight and my annoyance. Teachers were even less frequent. The person I passed most often was Draco Malfoy, because he was Head Boy, and the other patroller who had my late shift.

The house rivalries had simmered down between the older students of all four houses in the last couple of years, and we all got along tolerably. Malfoy wasn't the annoying, stuck up boy that he had been years ago. It was strange, but I got along with him quite well. We had developed a friendship through our Head Boy and Girl duties. It was nice, actually and I was glad that Malfoy had been appointed Head Boy rather than Ernie or anyone else. He had a witty sense of humor which kept me upbeat when the patrolling was duller than usual.

My thoughts strayed from Malfoy to my charms work as I entered the Charms corridor. I was thinking about the latest review session. I waved my wand and without real thought, conjured my Patrounus for practice. It was the only spell I ever had real difficulty with. My otter emerged from my wand tip and materialized in front of me. It bathed the surrounding tapestry covered walls with a startlingly silver light. A moment later, it vanished and the hallway was dark once more. I sighed. I didn't have enough stamina to get myself worked up about it. I carried on walking, past the Charms room thinking to myself that I would really have to practice that spell. Though, I didn't think that the looming NEWT's would really get me in the mood to concentrate on something happy, I thought darkly.

The castle was quite chilly late at night even though it was nearly May. I tugged the sleeves of my sweater down and shivered, wishing that I had worn pants and not the usual skirt. I was now walking by a lot of unused classrooms which all contained dust covered desks. The walls of these corridors were covered with threadbare tapestries, and no portraits. Clearly, this area of the castle needed some serious TLC. I checked my watch, wondering when I could turn back to the tower, but it was only eleven thirty. I sighed, thinking longingly of my warm bed and hot water bottle. I rounded a corridor and stopped, because someone was there. It was Malfoy. He stood right by a floor to ceiling window. The soft moonlight coming in shone on his light blond hair, turning it a silver color. It struck me then just how handsome he was. I hadn't really noticed before, for some reason or another. But something clicked when I saw him standing there in the moonlight. He was just so impossibly good looking, and I didn't understand why I hadn't seen it before. He too stopped when he saw me, and smiled a sincere smile.

"Hey, Granger."

"Hi," I responded. I stepped forward and leaned against the wall.

"Stopped any misbehaving?" I asked.

"No," Draco said wearily, looking down at me.

I tried unsuccessfully to repress a yawn.

"Still not sleeping?"

"No, my insomnia is still ever present." I said sourly.

He chuckled. "Have you gone to Madame Pomfrey? I'm sure she'd give you something."

I had thought about going to the matron, but in the end I had decided against it. I had a weird aversion for all things medicinal, and I didn't want to explain to her about my NEWT related stress. That would only make me more stressed. But, my sleepless nights were getting a bit out of hand…

"If my insomnia keeps up, I suppose I'll have to," I conceded.

A cold, bitter gust of wind whipped around the castle wall just then and I shivered in response. I cursed myself again for not wearing my thick woolen sweater. I crossed my arms and looked down, wondering if I would look too ridiculous if I pulled my socks up as high as they would go.

"You're cold." It seemed as though Draco had noticed my shiver because he said it as a statement, and not a question.

Before I could say anything, he had started to take off his own sweater. It turned out that he was wearing multiple sweaters because he had another one on underneath. He emerged a second later with his hair slightly rumpled. Draco held it out and I took it gratefully.

"Thanks," I muttered.

I quickly pulled it on, and immediately felt warmer. The sweater was already warm and it smelled so nice, like lemons and fresh laundry. It was oversized, and very soft. It just barely cleared my skirt but it did the trick. I could see myself becoming attached to this sweater— it was that comfy.

"So, do you always go around with multiple sweaters? Not that I'm complaining or anything."

I looked up at him and he was smiling at me again, which sent my heart going.

"I was cold, that's all. I couldn't bring myself to wear my winter coat indoors so I went with the multiple sweaters."

I looked down and all I could say was "Hmmm".

I felt Draco shift, and I looked up. He reached out and ran a hand down my arm. I felt a shiver run through me when he touched my arm, and I looked up questioningly.

"You look rather cute in my sweater, I like it."

I felt myself blush, and looked up into his eyes. Draco was very close to me. In that moment, I forgot about the draft around my knees and all I could do was stare back into his steel grey eyes. He moved his hand to the back of my neck and pulled me forward and kissed me. It was a slow, steady kiss which made my mind go blank. I sighed and opened my mouth slightly and tentatively brought my hands up and wound them into his hair. My skin heated up as we continued, and I wasn't cold anymore. All thought had stopped and I just felt his hand on my face and the other on my waist. Then, abruptly he grabbed me by the middle and sat me on the window ledge. I let out a gasp of surprise. It seemed that it gave him better access to my mouth and I couldn't complain. I wound my hands around his neck again and sighed in contentment as his hands found their way under his sweater. I opened my mouth slightly and felt his breath mingle with mine.

After an indeterminate period of time, we stopped and I began erratically breathing in cold air. He pulled me off the ledge and then right against him. He gave me a slow, hot kiss which made me weak at the knees. He pulled back and his clear grey eyes looked at me and I looked back, not knowing what emotion was on my face. I felt dazed, euphoric, and utterly content. He took my hand and started walking along the corridor the way I had come. I followed and we walked in silence, sometimes stopping to kiss again, and again. We did talk, but when we did it was brief. Draco never let go of my hand, and that night was the first of our many together. I never did give back his sweater.


End file.
